Repeating atop the list is China International Capital Corp.’s Bin Guan. The 39-year-old researcher focuses on 25 stocks but keeps sights on double that number, he says — and investors appreciate that effort. “Because he covers the entire food chain,” one U.S.-based fund manager contends, “his reports offer a deeper and more thorough analysis than his competitors’.” Clients applaud in particular Guan’s monitoring of Beijing-based driller China Oilfield Services. In February 2012 demand was rising for deepwater exploration and underwater environmental and safety inspections, and the company was expanding internationally, prompting the analyst to remind investors of his accumulate rating on its shares. When they had climbed 31.3 percent into late February 2013, and led the sector by 38.6 percentage points, Guan upgraded them to buy, citing the company’s growing fleet of underwater rigs. Through October the stock jumped 31.7 percent further, to HK$21.70, compared with a sector decline of 10.4 percent. China Oilfield “is gaining market share,” Guan says, so remains recommended. Another current favorite is Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Co., a Shanghai-based petroleum and petrochemicals products manufacturer. He prefers Sinopec largely thanks to its increasing earnings from refining and because tighter nationwide fuel standards in China should enable it to charge more for better-quality fuel. Guan rejoined CICC in 2010 after five years spent covering Asia-Pacific agriculture, energy and petrochemicals names at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He earned an MBA from the Business School at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London. “Bin is always on top of the news flow and understands the nuances of the Chinese energy market,” another booster declares. — Ben Mattlin |
Bin Guan Ben Mattlin China Merrill Lynch CICC
